Part Six - Nearly Showtime
The carbo load last night was a good time. After the cruise Joe "studmuffin" Foster and I headed over to the dinner. Totally American in focus, but very professional in execution. Lots of fun. They finished the evening with a tribute to Jim Ward. I was misty. Aside from dying in a hottub (right Chuck?), I can think of no better way for a cyclist to go then quickly in the middle of a long ride.

Note for my non-tri pals: Jim Ward is the oldest man to every finish an IM. He died of a heart attack while

riding with his pals one morning earlier this year. He remains an inspiration to triathletes all over the world.

In this year's race, Bill Bell is trying to become the oldest man to finish an IM. They showed a video of him at the dinner last night. He was asked if he every worries about killing himself during an IM. He replied that if the Lord wants to take him, then he hopes it is during the swim. That way he doesn't have to do the bike and the run!

Lots of sleep last night and this morning. Had some training planned, but dropped most of it to sort out a few last minute things.
Well, the day before the race has arrived, and it is time for some pre-game predictions.

My swimming has been going quite well, so I figure that including T1, I will be cycling around 1:06 race time.

My cycling has been a real challenge and I am going to play it fairly conservatively. My best guess is 5:35. Twenty-six minutes slower than Canada, but still a solid time. T2 will be pretty quick, say, two minutes.

My gut says "normal" running conditions and that means tougher than last year when I went 3:28. My running feels pretty good, but I have the nagging knee issue. Assume the knee behaves itself and it is hot. Best guess = 3:25.

What does that add up to? 10:08 and a very satisfied Gordo. Frankly, I will be happy with any time under last year (10:38), but this would be one hell of a way to end the season. I bet you can already guess that the stretch goal is 9:59:59. I have no watch, so I hope I don't miss by a little!

As an experiment (for myself and you the reader!), I am racing with no HRM and no watch. 100% on perceived exertion. It will be interesting to see how I go. Mentally I am relaxed. Physically, I have no idea.

So, that's all for now. You can track me on IronmanLive. Give me about a week and you will be able to read my full race report on Xtri.

I hope you have enjoyed the summaries from Kona. It has been an amazing week and no matter what happens, I've had a blast.

Two mantras for tomorrow:

#1 - We Don't Fold in Gordoworld

#2 - Do What You Can in the Present

This is a race of thanks. If you have been following me for the last little while the "for what" should be obvious. I would like to thank one person in particular, Ken Davico. I've never met Ken, but I know that we share a lot in common. Ken sent me a note when I was in a particularly low spot a year ago. Ken was the first person to believe in me as an athlete and is an inspiration for me to be the best I can be. This last year has been a tough one for Ken, and I look forward to lining up with him in October 2002. Of course, I'm going to have a ten-meter head start!

This will be it for a while. I know your thoughts and prayers are with me. Tomorrow it will be me and the Island. Win, lose or draw - you know I'll be smiling, if only on the inside.

gordo

PS - Just in case you were wondering. You can forget about me cruising the race. Peter has shown me the way, 100% of whatever percent I am dealt on the day. Who knows if I am coming back, and I don't coast very well.

Day One I Day Two I Day Three I Day Four I Day Five I Day Six
On to the Ironman Hawaii 2000 Race Report